Bracknagh look Offaly’s best bet for Leinster club success

Kevin Egan Column

For the Ballinamere-Durrow ladies, 2022 Leinster club competition has already begun, and it has already ended. They were first out of the blocks, and one-trip to Wicklow is all that the newly-crowned intermediate champions got out of their interprovincial campaign. However for the majority of local clubs, the action starts in earnest this weekend, and ideally, will extend deep into winter time. But how likely is that?

Here, we’re going to look at all the Offaly clubs that are going into Leinster, and rank their prospects, starting from the least likely through to the best chances of success.

(9) Birr

It’s been an incredible year for Birr camogie and the last thing this column is trying to do is put a dampener on it, but Oulart-the Ballagh are thinking about an All-Ireland, not Wexford or Leinster honours. Maybe Glynn-Barntown will pull off a shock in Sunday’s county final down there, but it’s unlikely. Even if they do, Birr still have a mountain to climb in their Leinster semi-final. And if it’s Oulart who get that far, then there’s not much more Birr can do but try to learn and develop from what would be a very difficult afternoon.

(8) Tullamore

Until a very good Naas team won last year’s title, the last eight Leinster intermediate hurling crowns went to Kilkenny teams. This Sunday, Thomastown play Danesfort and even at this early stage, Richie Hogan’s men look like potential All-Ireland winners after a very impressive summer. Tullamore’s quarter-final clash with Fr Dalton’s of Westmeath should be a good competitive game, but it would take a massive upset somewhere along the line for either team to go beyond that fixture.

(7) Shinrone

Historically, first time winners don’t do well in this competition, and there’s nothing simple about a Leinster quarter-final against a very experienced and physically strong Naas side, who dominated All-Ireland intermediate last year. Trevor Fletcher’s men have had plenty of time to savour a famous Robbins Cup victory and to get back on the horse for a campaign which won’t start until the middle of next month, but even if they come through that, Ballyhale Shamrocks in Croke Park is the likely semi-final opposition. To say that would be a huge challenge is an understatement.

(6) Rhode

For all the same reasons that Tullamore were favourites for the county final (though evidence of Rhode being “written off”, as they claimed after the final, has yet to materialise!), Rhode won’t start this year’s Leinster championship as one of the more likely winners. Nonetheless, the draw certainly offers up some potential for progress.

Ratoath have now won three of the last four Meath titles and will have their eyes on going deep into this competition, though like Rhode, they’d need a huge upset in the final to actually land the trophy. Home advantage would help the commuter town too – but Rhode have won big Leinster games in Navan before. If Kilmacud Crokes are to be beaten, this column’s guess is that Portarlington are the only team with the ability to pull that off, it’s hard to see Rhode manage it. Now, a Rhode versus Portarlington final on the other hand would be wide open.

(5) Naomh Ciarán

Their All-Ireland intermediate victory secured Offaly’s accession to senior club football, though it was Tullamore who were first to take advantage by securing access into the 2021 competition. Naomh Ciarán will make their Leinster senior debut on home ground in Ferbane this Sunday, and on paper, it’s an incredibly tough tie. Newly-crowned Dublin champions Kilmacud Crokes were comprehensive winners against reigning Leinster champions Dunboyne last week, with Michelle Davoren (full-forward) continuing her excellent run of form with another five points from play.

Dublin inter-county midfielder Lauren Magee missed that game as she was out of the country, but she’s named on the bench for this tie. Realistically, Naomh Ciarán need a lot to go their way against a side that is full of talent, particularly in the middle third – but if they can pull off an upset, then Leinster is theirs for the taking. Of all the games taking place this weekend involving Offaly teams, this one stands out by some distance as the one to watch – and it will also be streamed by Leinster LGFA, for those who can’t make it.

(4) St Sinchill’s

Leinster junior camogie is a tough championship to assess at the best of times, but the landscape has got a lot more forgiving since Raharney moved up to intermediate level. There’s no standout contender in this competition, though it looks like St Sinchill’s have got the toughest draw possible, taking on Blackhall Gaels of Meath in the quarter-final. If they’re good enough to win that, they are well able for anything else that could be thrown at them – but a first hurdle exit is probably slightly more likely.

(3) Shamrocks

Last January’s 4-13 to 0-15 defeat to Mooncoin reads pretty well when we consider that the south Kilkenny club went all the way to Croke Park and duly took national honours. Shamrocks went into that campaign on the back of losing their Offaly final, though that was no issue by the time Nowlan Park came around as they had momentum on their side once again at that stage.

There’s a long road back to that stage. First up is a tough road trip to Kildare and if successful, another one to Wexford after that. But they have a lot of the ingredients needed to go well in this competition, and not too many teams will start this championship with recent, relevant experience.

Ultimately, as always, the benchmark will be Kilkenny, and there are a few eye-catching young players on a Windgap team that will play their first county final in 21 years against Blacks and Whites this Sunday, most notably U-20 county full-back Seán Purcell. However on the face of it, they don’t look quite as strong as Mooncoin last year, so there’s cause for guarded optimism in the Shamrocks camp.

(2) Ballycommon

Leinster Junior football is a notoriously wide open championship, but Ballycommon have been handed a huge head start in their bid to follow in Clonbullogue’s footsteps and win the whole thing, because they could do it without leaving the comfortable confines of O’Connor Park. Winter football won’t hurt them either as there is a fair degree of physical maturity and strength in the group.

Stabannon Parnells (Louth) and Castletown (Meath) are the teams that leap off the page as possibly the strongest contenders out there, but if ever there was a competition where any team is capable of beating anyone else, then this is it.

(1) Bracknagh

Since Offaly have moved to a Senior A/Senior B structure, Faithful County clubs have got a lot more competitive in the intermediate grade and there is every reason to believe that Bracknagh should be on the shortlist of potential winners this year.

Anything less than reaching a final would be a disappointment. Bracknagh will be clear favourites to start off with a win in Callan tomorrow (Saturday), and while Shandonagh look very physically powerful and suited to winter football, Bracknagh should have a bit too much attacking edge for the club from the outskirts of Mullingar.

A home quarter-final and a home semi-final is huge, while if they got that far, the Leinster final would in Tullamore too. Looming on the far side of the draw, however, is a very strong Dunshaughlin team, who look like the pick of the bunch.